Gas range



May 4, 1 937. s. H. HoBsoN GAS-RANGE Filed May 8, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l o a o o o e o a o a 0 o a May 4, 1937. s. H. HOBSON GAS RANGE Filed May 8, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 4, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAS RANGE United States Application May 8, 1934, Serial No. 724,552

3 Claims.

This invention relates to gas ranges and has particular reference to a single control for two burners in one oven, the one burner being arranged to be manually throttled for broiling and the other being manually controlled but thermostat, have been subject to the objec-- tion that they do not provide properly for regulation of the oven burner for broiling; one couldnot throttle down to a lower flame when the dial was'set to 550 F. or thereabouts for broiling, and if the dial were turned back to give a lower flame, that would naturally mean a corresponding low temperature setting of the oven regulator, with the result that the oven burner would be extinguished. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a gas cock in connection with a single dial control having its ports and channels so arranged that it may be turned in a clockwise direction from ofi position to supply gas to the lower burner under thermostatic control of the oven regulator, for baking, etc., no gas being delivered under such circumstances to the upper burner, the said dial being arranged to be turned in a counterclockwise direction from off position to deliver gas to the upper burner alone under direct manual control, for broiling, independently of thermostatic control of the oven regulator, so that the broiler burner may be throttled down if it is desired to finish broiling with a low flame.

The invention is illustrated in'the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the oven section of a gas range embodyingmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the valve and related dial and. control panel; I Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2, looking in opposite directions, Fig. 3 showing the dial and Fig. 4 showing the valve stator in rear elevation;

Fig. 5 is a face view of the valve stator, the view being taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section through the valve rotor on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, with the stator appearing in the background, the rotor being in ofi position;

Figs. '7 and 8 are sections similar to Fig. 6,

Fig. 7 showing the rotor turned clockwise to an extreme position to deliver gas to the lower burner under thermostatic control of the oven regulator for highest oven temperature, and Fig. 8 showing the rotor turned counterclockwise to an extreme position to deliver gas to the upper burner for high flame broiling, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are horizontal sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Figure 1.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The stove shown in Figure 1 has a center manifold ll extending from front to rear of the burner box I2 under the cooking top l3 in accordance with the disclosure in my co-pending application Serial No. 721,101, filed April 18, 1934. As described in that application, disc valves l4 project laterally from the opposite sides of the manifold II for direct communication of the jets thereof with the mixers of the cooking top bumers l5, which are supported on claws IS on a combination lighter and burner support IT. The latter has a central pilot light housing I8 in which a pilot burner supplied with gas from the manifold ll through the connection l9 provides for automatic lighting of the burners by flashback. The valves M are manipulated by rods 20 flexibly connected with the stems of the valves at one end and at the other end with the operating handles 2| on a control panel 22 provided on the front wall of the burner box.

In the previous application, I disclose an oven valve controlling only a single oven burner and its pilot burner, and, having a rod connection with the oven regulator for a combination or single dial control. In the present case, however, the oven valve, indicated generally by the numeral 23, has connection with two burners 24 and 25, as well as an oven regulator 26. The valve 23 is ofthe rotary disc type and comprises a stator 21 and rotor 28. The stator is connected as at 29 to the front end of the manifold H to support the valve and supply gas thereto through the inlet port 30. Two main outlet ports are provided in the stator, as indicated at 3| and 32, and a sec ondary or auxiliary outlet port 33. See Fig. 5. The rotor 28 has an arcuate channel 34 provided therein which in the off position, shown in Fig. 6, registers withthe port 3| but not the port 30. However, when the rotor is turned in a counterclockwise direction, the channel 34 comes into communication with port 30, as shown in Fig. 8, and in that way delivers gas to the-burner 24 through a pipe 35. The pipe 35 ispreferably formed by tubing bendable to the form shown in Figure 1 to facilitate assembling and make it easier to provide connection with the jet fitting 36 discharging into the mixer 31 of the burner "ofi position of the'rotor, shown in Fig. *6, communicates with ports 32 and 33 but not port 38. Furthermore, when,the rotor is in the position for broiling, shown in Fig. 8, this channel is still out of communication with the inlet port 30- so that there can be no gas flow through this channel. However, when the rotor is turned in a clockwise direction from the off position, communication is established through channel 39 between the inlet port 38 and the two ports 32 and 33, as shown in Fig. 7. The port 3! for the broiler burner 34 is isolated from the inlet port 38 under these conditions. Gas flows from the port 32 to the oven' regulator 26 through a pipe 40, and from the regulator to the burner 25 through pipe. The pipes 48 and 4|, like the pipe 35, is formed from tubing bendable to the shapes indicated, to facilitate assembling. The end of the pipe 4! is connected with a jet fitting 42 discharging into'the mixer 43 of the burner 25. Gas delivered ,to the port 33 is conducted through a tube 44 to a pilot burner 45 arranged tobe lighted through a small door 46 below the oven door 38. The pilot burner 45 in turn lights the'burner 26 by means of a forward extension 41 of! the burner 26, extending through a hole 48in a perforated shield or bailie 49 provided in the front end of the lower burner compartment 68. 1

Reverting to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, it will be observed that the stator 21 has a narrow arcuate channel 5| provided therein and extending in a clockwise direction from the port 32. Another arcuate channel 52 is provided in the stator, of the same width as and registering with the channel 39 in the rotor. This channel 52 extends through almost 90 in both directions from the port 33. As a result, it has communication at all times with the channel 33 in the rotor 28,

because that channel extends throughout nearly 270. Since the channel 39 does not register with port 39 when the rotor is turned in a counterclockwise direction from the "off" position (see Fig.8), there will, of course, be no delivery of gas to the pilot burner 46 while theupper burner 24 is beingused for broiling. However, when the rotor 23 is turned in a clockwise direction. from the o position (see Fig. 7), the channels 39 and 62 cooperate to deliver gas from the port 33 tothe port 33 and thence to the pilot burner 46 throughout this range of adjustment of the rotor.

The rotor. 23 of the valve 23 is turned by means of a stem' 83 which extends through. registering axial holes in the stator 21 and rotor 28. A key projection 54 is formed on the stem and fits in a keyway 68 in the rotor so as to turn the rotor in the turning of the stem. The stem extends forwardly from the valve through an. opening 56 in the control panel 22 and has a handle 61 fastened thereon. A dial 63 is fastened to the stem behind a window opening 59 in the control panel 22 and serves to indicate the setting of the valve 23 and oven regulator 26. In Fig. 3, the outline ofthe window 59 is indicated in dotted lines, showing the segment 68 of the dial marked Off to designate the 01f position of the valve 23. In this same figure, the broiling indication broiling on appears at GI, and this indication becomes'visible in the window 59 when the stem 53 is turned in a counterclockwise direction from the off position. An oven temperature scale 62 is provided on the dial behind the marking Oven on, appearing at 63, and when the stem 53 is turned in a clockwise direction from the off position, one will, of course, first see the oven on reading and thereafter, upon further clockwise turning of the stem, the oven temperature readings will appear at the window 59. The turning of'the rotor 28 is limited by the engagement of an arm 64, projecting radially from the stem 53 behind the dial 58, with either one of two pins 65 or 66 projectingforwardly from the stator 21 of the valve. In theoff position, the arm 64 is disposed, as shown in Fig. 6. counterclockwise turning of the stem from this position is limited by the arm coming in contact with the pin 65, as shown in Fig. 8, and clockwise turning from the position stated is limited by the arm coming into engagement with pin 66, as shown in Fig. 7. A coiled compression spring 61 surrounds the stem 53 behind the dial 58 and arm 64 and exerts pressure on the rotor 28 to keep the fiat face thereof in sealing engagement with the flat seat provided on the stator. A pin 68 is set loosely radially in a hole in the stem 53 immediately behind the stator 21 of the valve and is held in place by the rim of a ring. 69 and nuts 18 threaded on the stem behind the ring. Some of the pin projects forwardly from the plane of the ring 68 and is arranged to enter a smalldepression 1| provided therefor in the back of the stator 21. The spring 61, in addition to pressing the rotor against the stator, urges the stem 53 forwardly so that the pin 68 'is pressed against the back of the stator, to place a slight frictional drag on the turning of the stem and also releasably lock the stem in the '01? position of the rotor, the pin 68 being arranged to ride into the depression 1| under the action of the spring 61 when the rotor is turned to the ofi" position.

The stem 53 of the valve 23 is interconnected with the oven regulator 26 so as to turn the rotary temperature adjustment cam 12 of the regulator simultaneously in the turning of the rotor 28 of the valve. A rod 13 has a universal joint connection at its forward end, as at 14, with the rear end of the stem 53, the connection including a sleeve 15 threaded on the end of the stem and fastened thereto in adiusted position by set screws 16. A similar connection is provided between the re r end of the rod 13 and the cam 12.

n operation, let us assume that the housewife desires to do baking or roasting at a certain oven temperature; in that event, she turns the handle 51 in a clockwise direction and observes the dial 58 through the window 59. noting first the appearance of the reading 63, Oven on. At this point she is aware that gas is being delivered to the lower burner 25 and its pilot burner 45, and she will accordingly open the door 46 and light the pilot 45, which in turn will light the burner 25 through its extension 41. The handle 51 is regulator 26 along with the rotor 28 of the valve 23 through the rod connection 13, so that in one operation one has opened the valve to deliver the gas and has set the regulator to regulate the flow of gas to the burner. The regulator thereafter automatically maintains the temperature selected.

Assuming, on the other hand, that the housewife desires to do broiling, she merely turns the handle 51 in a counterclockwise direction and opens the door 38 to light the burner 24, to which the gas is delivered from the valve 23, under these conditions. In turning the handle, the dial 58 is turned and the operator will observe the reading 69, Broiling on, appearing in the window 59. The broiling can be done with a full or moderate sized flame so long as desired and then the burner can be throttled down by turning the handle 51 back a trifle toward off position, to finish broiling with a low flame. The low flame can be maintained without any difficulty, owing to the fact that the regulator is independent of thermostatic action; the burner is throttled directly by the valve 23. With other installations where the oven regulator and valve were operated jointly, that is, with a single dial control, there was the objection that the thermostatic action interfered with the operators manual regulation of the flame, especially when attempting to finish broiling with a low flame, as pointed out above.

In conclusion, attention is called to Figs. 1, 9 and 10, in which a vertical channel I1 is shown in the side wall of the oven section behind the lining '58 to accommodate the downwardly projecting portion 19 of the upper burner 24 on which the mixer 31, previously referred to, is provided at the lower end. In this way, when the burner 25 is being used for broiling, primary air is supplied to the mixer 31 through the channel 11 from the compartment 50 in the bottom of the oven section. The compartment 50 is in turn supplied with air through an opening 80 provided in the bottom wall 81 of the compartment under a shield 82 disposed beneath and supporting the burner 25. The fact that the burner 25 is not in use while the burner 24 is in operation assures good supply of air to the burner 24 from compartment 50. The burner 25, on the other hand, has its mixer 42 supplied with air directly through an opening 83 in the bottom wall 8|, into which the mixer projects to the extent indicated in Fig. 1. Another opening 84 is provided in the bottom 8| in the vicinity of the pilot burner 45 and burner extension 41 to support combustion.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The following claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a combination oven control, a single manually rotatable stem, a rotary gas valve comprising a stator, and a rotor turning with said stem, the stator and rotor having gas conducting channels provided therein to control the flow of gas from an inlet port to either of two main outlet ports and a secondary outlet port provided in the stator, the inlet port having communication witha gas supply and the main outlets with oven burners, and the secondary outlet with a pilot burner for an oven burner, and a thermostatic oven valve having a rotatable control member turned by connection with said stem, said rotary valve having its stator and rotor channels so constructed and arranged whereby in turning the rotor in one.

direction from off position to supply gas to the one main outlet and its related secondary outlet, while the thermostatic valve is set for a selected oven temperature, and in turning the rotor in the other direction from ofi position to deliver gas only to the other main outlet at a rate determined only by the adjustment of the rotor.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 including a dial mounted to turn with said stem relative to a pointer, the dial having oven temperature graduations reading in one direction from the off position and having broiler indications reading in the other direction from the oil position.

3. A structure as set forth in claim 1 including a dial mounted to turn with said stern relative to a pointer, the dial having oven temperature graduations reading in one direction from the ofi position and having broiler indications reading in the other direction from the off position, and means for automatically releasably locking the stem in the off position.

STANLEY H. HOBSON. 

